Ecological architecture and cannabis as a material
Current trends respond to being able to build more efficient structures with ecologically responsible methods, allowing for what some call the ecological architecture, which is to respond to the necessary balance between man and the environment from the optimization of the constructive element. A multitude of techniques come in here, from the oldest to the most modern, of literally projecting with a "head", of reusing and of course materials where innovation or the way of understanding and applying them plays a fundamental role.
This time we are going to enter the world of cannbis in architecture, well! … to be exact, from thehemp or industrial hemp (It is the name given to the varieties of cannabis plants - marijuana and the name of the fiber) and that has been used in many countries traditionally in the textile or automotive world, going through the production of oils and seeds or ecological fuels and plastics , among others.
Now, two milestones begin to reveal the benefits of hemp from the perspective of fiber in the ecological building. First, the different technological innovation companies that are becoming interested in this material applied to ecological construction due to the evidence of peculiar characteristics that other materials do not have.
And secondly, the international architecture competition Cannabis Bank (Promoted by Bee Breeders and Ojo!… The competition is not a joke, the 1st prize takes 10,000 Dollars) with the aim of opening the discourse around the world of cannabis and its integration in the construction environment.
Actually, it was a subject that we were completely unaware of until we were talking to an architect who changed the helmet and the Autocad for something totally different and who entered the cannabis game from http://eurogrow.es/. The crisis in the architecture sector affects us all, and each one chooses a path!
Hemp as a building material
Some experts already predict that the new homes of the future will be greener thanks to a new material called Hempcrete. That can become a construction material that revolutionizes the ecological architecture, alreadyrelatively widespread in many countries around the world. But,what is Hempcrete?
The Hempcrete material
If we look at theHempcrete material, which is actually ahemp brick, is a combination of the English wordshemp (hemp) and concrete (concrete). It is the result of a unique blend of industrial hemp plant fibers (not to be confused with "traditional marijuana plants" or medical marijuana uses), natural hydraulic lime - in most cases - with a mixture of minerals and water.
When calcium carbonate is heated to 900 ° C, calcium oxide or quicklime is obtained, which results in lime dust. Mixing it properly with water and hemp fibers will give rise to this unique material once the water evaporates.
As a note, there are some areas that is combined with cement. The difference between using a lime or cement conglomerate:
Among many of its virtues and advantages of hemp bricks; the material is highly resistant to fire, high thermal comfort (the reed as an insulator is equivalent to rock wool or glass), acoustic, breathable, flexible or practically impervious to termites.
The hempcrete It is regarded as a carbon negative material. In other words, more carbon dioxide can be destroyed during its production than is generated. Are bricks that absorb CO2!
In reality, it is because the hemp plant is one of the ones that is capable of absorbing more CO2 during its cultivation, which compensates for that generated during production, distribution, commissioning and possible recycling.
According to gossip - mainly manufacturers - it is said that it is so recyclable that once it is demolished, it can even be reused as fertilizer.
On the market it can already be found in brick format intended for ecological building although it must be said that it has a inconvenient, the cost of the material is higher than that of traditional construction but energy savings are very important. In Spain there is a company called Cannabric that markets them.
We can also find it in "bulk" mode, cheaper, being a perfect element for insulating walls, floors, ceilings … etc.
Example of ecological architecture with cannabis
From Belgium we can see an example of architecture with cannabis where we find a home renovation where the new has been used hempcrete ecological hemp concrete by the architecture studio Ghent studio Martens Van Caimere Architecten.
We can see in the images of the house that an architecture is offered that is not at all at odds with a good design.
Other example of ecological architecture with this material we found it in a building from the outskirts of Cape Town in South Africa. A detached house with spectacular views and also with a roof garden.
In this case, it is the first time build a house with hemp against all the legislative impediments of the country, but the reality is that a path has been opened that can lead a new sustainable industry that has a lot of potential.
Now, we have to go to the winner of the international architecture competition Cannabis Bank. Remember that the goal is to design store proposals that can be located anywhere in the world.
This year's winner is the creative project called U-CAN. The city of Taiwan proposes to build on the roofs of the buildings a store with spaces for worship, to relax or for social gathering, taking into account the circumstances of a city overcrowded in population and the need for spaces for social communication.
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